


That One Where Trucy is Afraid of Earthquakes

by acertaindefenseattorney



Category: Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Bonding, Fatherhood, Gen, character comfort, hobo phoenix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-10
Updated: 2012-06-10
Packaged: 2017-11-07 11:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/430640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acertaindefenseattorney/pseuds/acertaindefenseattorney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was unlike her to be afraid of much, but he knew from experience that everyone had at least one thing.</p><p>- Response to an askboxed drabble request: 'Hobo discovers Trucy is terrified of earthquakes.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	That One Where Trucy is Afraid of Earthquakes

“Earthquakes, huh?”

She groaned, dragging the neck of her sweater up over her face. Phoenix couldn’t help but chuckle softly; the image was comical, a tuft of messy brown hair coming up out of the grey fabric where her face should be. He smoothed his palm over it, or as much of it as he could reach. 

It was unlike her to be afraid of much, but he knew from experience that everyone had at least one thing. For him it was thunder, and heights. For Maya it was bugs - not spiders, but bugs, like the harmless shiny beetles that crawl out from under bark. For Larry it was heavily pregnant women. Miles, well. Miles. 

“Well, what’s so scary about earthquakes?” 

It was a stupid reassurance, but it was the first that came to mind. Put him in the company of a fellow adult, _jesus christ I hate Earthquakes,_ but where Trucy was concerned he acted on a script in which nothing could get at her while he was around. They could have been inches from a very hungry bear, and he’d have said, _hey, it’s not so bad. Bears aren’t so frightening_ , right as it chomped on his limbs. 

And it had been a fairly routine quake, today, all it had done was shake some files, toys, and magic tricks off the shelves in the office and Trucy’s bedroom, open closet doors and the kitchen cabinets. He hadn’t been expecting the colour to drain out of Trucy’s face the way it did, or for her to be frozen, legs drawn up beneath her, gripping the sheets on her bed for minutes after it passed. 

Thing was, Trucy was getting a little old for bland reassurance, now. She popped up out of the sweater again – his sweater, really – and fixed him with a fierce look; puffed a breath through her nose. 

“… Yeah. Alright.” he grinned, acting sheepish. “Earthquakes _are_ pretty scary. But–”

“You told me about Mr. Edgeworth when I was 8 years old, daddy.”

… He had. She was right. Phoenix cursed his past self.  

He sighed softly, his hand moving to her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Is that what you’re afraid of?” smiling down at her, voice soft. “You know, that whole situation was the result of some pretty specific contributing factors. Not to mention,” he dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, bowing his head closer to her as if to confide a secret; jabbing at the skin over his heart with a thumb, “this? Is like rhino hide.”

She giggled, quietly, the sort of half-repressed giggle of a kid who does not want to be cheered up, then shook her heard fiercely.

“No?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Just scared, then.

“Alright.” he lay down across the small single bed, making a show of squeezing in beside her soft toys, wiggling around exaggeratedly until he was comfortable, and lifted one arm, beckoning her to come and lay down with him. Which she did, head resting on his chest, small body curled up against his side. Again, he smoothed a palm over her hair. 

“Alright. Earthquakes are pretty dangerous. But if you’re aware, and safe, and you know what to do when one hits – you’ve been taught that, haven’t you?”

She nodded.

“If you’re aware, and safe, and you know what to do when one hits; and especially if you’re with me, or Uncle Larry or any one of us, you have nothing to be afraid of. And for what it’s worth … I would much rather,” he tucked her hair back behind her ear to emphasise this point, “that my smart little girl was afraid of massive tectonic shifts in the earth’s crust, than of spiders _._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> I never know how to write Trucy. Hm!


End file.
